Abdication time

Dag Jenkins
May 27, 2024
5 min read

Season 2000-01

Game 32, Serie A

Sunday, May 27, 2001

Stadio San Nicola, Bari

Inter-Lazio 1-1

Lazio throw away any residual chances of winning the Scudetto again as Dalmat equalises in dying minutes

In Serie A things had not gone as hoped and Lazio were currently in 3rd position but well off leaders Roma. The Biancocelesti came into today's game following three consecutive wins and were unbeaten in the last seven. The table read Roma 70, Lazio 65, Juventus 64. Roma, who had been top of the table from game 5 and after game 13 had a 13-point advantage on Lazio and still 11 points after game 22, were now showing signs of slowing down (losing 1 and drawing 3 in the last 7), giving the chasers some hope.

In Serie A Inter were currently 6th on 44 points. Inter had won 12, drawn 8 (including first derby 2-2) and lost 11 (including Lazio 0-2 and Milan 0-6) and still had hopes of UEFA Cup qualification as they had a one-point lead on Atalanta and two on Fiorentina and Bari.

A difficult game for Lazio but if they wanted to retain their title a win was indispensable. Roma played Milan at home while Juventus had Perugia at home.

The match

The game was played in the neutral venue of Bari in front of about 15,000 spectators. This was due to Inter being banned from playing at home due to recent crowd trouble in the derby which followed the incredible episode of a week earlier when a moped had been thrown from the Inter end!

Lazio were without defenders Beppe Favalli and Fernando Couto plus midfielder Pavel Nedved who was suspended.

Inter were missing keeper Sebastian Frey, defender Ivan Cordoba and midfielder Francisco Farinós plus obviously long-term injury Ronaldo.

In the first minute Inter had a scare when Christian Vieri appeared to turn his ankle but he was able to continue at least for now.

In the 9th minute Lazio hit the crossbar with a Diego Simeone header from a corner.

Lazio were on top and had a low drive by Claudio Lopez saved into corner by Marco Ballotta.

In the 22nd minute Vieri was forced off due to his earlier injury and replaced by Turkish striker Hakan Şukür.

A few minutes later Hernan Crespo, set up by Karel Poborsky, turned well in the area but his powerful left foot was just wide.

Lazio were queueing up to score. A Lopez header was cleared off the line, a Crespo strike was saved by Ballotta with his feet and then the Argentinian missed a sitter from close range after being teed up by Juan Sebastian Veron.

Inter occasionally went forward and in the 36th minute hit the crossbar with a thundering long range left footed shot by Vladimir Jugovic.

Then it was Lazio again but Crespo missed another golden opportunity, putting the ball wide from a favourable position. The "Valdanito" finally scored in the 42nd minute when, near the front post, he headed in from a Veron corner. Inter 0 Lazio 1.

Crespo almost immediately got another in a similar fashion when he headed a Sinisa Mihajlovic corner but this time Ballotta saved. Halftime, Lazio one-nil up but it should have been more.

Meanwhile the other matches were Roma 0 Milan 1 and Juventus 0 Perugia 0. The table currently read; Roma 70, Lazio 68, Juventus 65.

The second half started in a similar fashion, Lazio attacking but missing too many chances. In the first ten minutes Poborsky twice had the chance to possibly close the game, one was particularly inviting as he had only the keeper to beat but fired his shot just wide of the left post.

In the 53rd minute the Nerazzurri had replaced Gigi Di Biagio with Benoit Cauet.

All the missed chances were a psychological blow for Lazio who went off the boil. Inter had a low Stéphane Dalmat shot caught by Angelo Peruzzi. In the 59th minute Marcelo Salas came on for Claudio Lopez and for Inter Álvaro Recoba replaced Marco Ferrante in the 63rd.

In the 64th minute came the news that Vincenzo Montella had equalised in Rome against Milan. Ten minutes earlier David Trezeguet had already put Juventus in front against Perugia so things were changing for the worse for Lazio.

Lazio lost their aggression and fire and Inter started to believe they could take something from the game.

It was still Lazio however who had the best chances. Crespo again squandered a Veron assist when he mistimed a volley in front of goal and completely missed the ball and a few minutes later Simone hammered the ball over the bar from a good position, then a Mihajlovic freekick whistled past the right post.

In the 79th minute Dejan Stankovic came on for Poborsky. Lazio seemed in control but with only a one goal lead they could not relax.

In the 85th minute Alessandro Nesta slipped and gave Recoba an opportunity in front of Peruzzi but from an awkward angle on the left and he fired the ball over the bar.

Stankovic then had a good long range shot but it was just over the bar and Recoba imitated him a few minutes later.

In the 92nd minute Lazio’s world collapsed. Inter had a free kick five metres from the right vertex of the area, Recoba was on the ball but instead of shooting tapped the ball to his left horizontally to Dalmat who with his right foot drilled the ball into the top left-hand corner. A superb goal. Inter 1 Lazio 1.

A cruel ending for Lazio who could and should have put the game to bed long before those tense injury time minutes. They threw away the chance to put more pressure on Roma who had drawn and seemed to be getting more and more anxious.

The new table read; Roma 71, Juventus 67, Lazio 66. With two games to go only a miracle could allow Lazio to retain their title now.

Who played for Inter

Ballotta, Cirillo, Blanc, Ferrari, Zanetti, Di Biagio (53' Cauet), Jugovic, Dalmat, Serena, Ferrante (63' Recoba), Vieri (22' Hakan Sukur),

Substitutes: Varaldi, Simic, Macellari, Seedorf

Manager: Tardelli

Who played for Lazio

Peruzzi, Negro, Nesta, Mihajlovic, Pancaro, Poborsky (79' Stankovic), Veron, D.Baggio, Simeone, C. Lopez (58' Salas), Crespo